Breach of Security
by SilentStar-009
Summary: Darien and his friends accidentally see the Scouts transform back into civilians, and now the Scouts are faced with a problem. Then something happens, things change...time changes...and now Darien and his friends have a problem...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Over your fall break, I want you all to pair up and write a report on our modern day heroes. Please submit who you and your group would like to write about. I plan on reading different reports this time." Professor Shin told the class as he erased the white board.

"We call the Sailor Scouts!" Jadeite exclaimed, before anyone began to pair into groups.

"Done." The Professor told him, writing a note in his book. The shrill bell ran and the class began filing out. Darien, Jadeite, Kunzite, Nephrite and Zoicite all proceeded in the same direction. The fall wind was blowing harshly, as they made their way to the library.

"The Sailor Scouts?" Zoicite asked dryly when they found a table in the back of the library and started unloading their things.

"Uh yes. They're the hottest thing aren't they? Everyone wants to see them, and this is our chance to do some kick ass reporting." He exclaimed excitedly and flipped open his laptop computer. The screen blinked away, _dinging_ and he typed in the password. "We should scour all the newspaper since they showed up and then, after we get some useful sources, we'll investigate them ourselves." He said and double-clicked on the internet icon.

"What makes you think we can even get close to them, let alone ask questions?" Nephrite asked lazily, leaning back in his chair and eyeing Jadeite thoughtfully.

"Because, you nerd, we have Darien." Jadeite told him in a sarcastic tone, his bright blue eyes, scanning various webpages. Darien leaned forward and shut Jadeite's lap top. Jadeite had barely enough time to push his hands between the screen and keys, making sure he was still connected.

"I don't think so." Darien told him darkly. Jadeite pushed the screen back up and stared at Darien over the top of the silver computer.

"And why not?" He asked.

"I won't abuse my power like that. Besides, I never talk to any of the scouts. I show up, do my saving thing and then I'm gone. That's all." He told him matter-of-factly and Jadeite just rolled his eyes.

"You want to get a good grade on this don't you?" He asked his friend and he saw Darien hesitate. He pounced before Darien had a chance to say no again. "We only have a week. All you have to do is keep them there and me and the guys will do the rest. Nothing bad will happen. Promise." Jadeite offered. Darien said nothing. It sounded like a yes to him…

XOXO

It was so stupid really. All this work for a grade. Darien thought has he leapt across the buildings to answer the call. A loud sounding BOOM echoed through the tall buildings of the city. The scouts were in battle. The yomen blasted them all back and they hit the opposite side of the wall with a resounding thud, making him wince. Sailor Moon groggily got to her feet, too dazed to know that the yomen was charging after her. He moved then, throwing one of his roses and stalling the monster before yanking the girl in his arms, sailing them to safely. Her arms tightened around him and she whimpered. Alarmed, he sat them down and he saw her biting her lip, trying to hold back tears.

"What?" He asked her and she pushed away from him, shaking her head.

"It's nothing. It's just my arm…" She backed away from him, doubt in her eyes.

"Let me see." He told her and grabbed her back. Slowly, he turned her arm and saw a wicked cut with glass still embedded in it. "Hold still." He told her harshly, his stomach churning at the sight. Sailor Moon was just a child, a teenager he suspected. How she and her scouts survived a battle was beyond him.

"No, Mercury can…" She gasped when his fingers plucked the largest piece of glass from her wound. And then he focused on the smaller pieces, grateful that he could take them all out with his finger tips. Inside of his coat pockets, he pulled out a dark blue handkerchief and gently wrapped her arm. He studied the arm, making sure that he wrapped the whole wound, when suddenly, his vision was swimming in bright lights.

"Sailor Moon! Sailor Moon! Is something going on with you and Tuxedo Mask?" A bombardment of photographers and reporters had managed to get to the top of the building and assault them. They both glared at them in annoyance.

"Time to go." Darien said, taking her in his arms once again and dropping back down to the battle where the scouts had the monster cornered.

"Where the hell were you?" Sailor Mars snapped at her, sending an attack at the monster that dodged it.

"Sorry." Sailor Moon replied breathlessly and took out her scepter, moondusting the monster and causing the crowed that had gathered, to cheer. He made his exit then, dodging bold reporters that managed to break free of the police barricaded.

"One picture, that's all! Tuxedo Mask!" But he was gone. And the girls posed a few times before they too were gone.

XOXO

The next afternoon, Darien took a walk from his apartment to his local hangout, The Crown Arcade. When he had first moved to his current home, the owner's son, Andrew welcomed him like they were long lost friends. He could never make friends when he was younger, mostly do to his part. He could never get close to anyone for fear that he could lose them just like he lost his parents. He relived that horrible accident so many times in his minds that he became almost immune to pain and loneliness. But Andrew came along and soon, he didn't feel so lonely anymore, so empty. That's why when he gradually met each one of his friends, and he wasn't so wary of people anymore. He smiled when he reminisced on meeting them. Jadeite at the college café, trying to sweet talk one of the waitress into giving him a free piece of cherry pie. Nephrite at the planetarium, where he part timed as a tour guide. Zoicite at the library, where he was assigned as his chemistry tutor and Kunzite at a club Jadeite took him too. Jadeite tried to pick a fight with him over the pool table when he was stone cold drunk. Luckily, Kunzite took it easy on him and left him alive with only two black eyes. To this day, Jadeite swore he _let_ him kick his ass.

The door chimed merrily when he entered. He never really came on the weekends to the Crown Arcade because so many people were there, but today, he decided to be social. Young children occupied the games that leaned against each other, cheering on the players.

"No Serena you dummy, JUMP JUMP!" He heard someone remark in a frustrated tone. His eyes briefly fell on a group of girls in the far corner crowding a player, probably this Serena that one was yelling at. But he couldn't see her. He shrugged them off and went to sit on the stools by the counter. He caught Andrews's eyes and the blonde smiled.

"Be right with you Dare." He told him with a smile and continued writing down an order for a busy mom with kids surrounding her. After a while, he came and sat next to him.

"How have you been?" Andrew breathed, his green eyes sparking with warmth. Darien shrugged and thanked the waiter for the steaming cup of coffee.

"Same. Where have you been? I haven't seen you in class for a couple of days." Darien said, stirring the black brew, waiting for it to cool. Andrew sighed.

"Family meetings. My dad has decided to write his will, and he's been taking me to see his lawyer about signing over the Arcade to me." He said, wiping the counter as he turned in his swivel chair. "But he's not going to die anytime soon, so I don't even know why he's so worried _now_."

"Just making sure his family is in order so no family fights occur when he _does_ pass away." Darien assured him, dipping his pinky in the coffee and finding it cool enough to drink. And just when he was about to take a drink, someone bumped his chair.

"Andrew!" They exclaimed brightly. He spilled the coffee on the front of his pants. It seeped through his blue jeans and he threw his hands up in surprise. "Ooops." Said the same voice and he looked to see who was responsible. It was a blonde girl with a strange hairstyle and clear, sky blue eyes. He face flushed and she grabbed a fist full of napkins from the holder and fumbled around to dab his pants. In her haste, he guessed that she didn't even think about _where_ she was touching because soon her hands began to slow and her face grew even redder. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Uhh, h-here!" She threw the wet napkins at him. Darien slowly peeled the napkins from his white tee-shirt, almost wincing at the brown spots the coffee left the once pristine fabric. The girl let out a moan and buried her face in the shoulder of a tall brunette wearing an olive green summer tube top dress.

"Uh, Serena, this is my friend Darien. Darien this whirlwind is my good friend Serena." Andrew said a bit awkwardly. Serena turned from her friend and gave him a little smile.

"Sorry." She said softly, fidgeting under his gaze. "It was an accident. I get into a lot of those." She said, twisting her hand in her shirt. But it interested him that she never looked away from him, or looked down, but kept eye contact.

"A lot?" One of her friends snickered. She was pretty, with long dark hair and lilac eyes.

"Raye." The tall brunette said in a warning voice and the girl just rolled her eyes.

"It's fine." He muttered, wiping up the rest of the liquid from the counter and piling the soil napkins in the empty cup. She dug into her pockets and pulled out some coins, dropping them on the counter.

"For a new cup of coffee." She said brightly and she and her friends exited the arcade. Darien watched them leave. She was a pretty cute girl. Way to young for him though. And she was accident prone. He made a mental note to stay away from her in case something worse happened to him.

"What do you think about her?" Andrew asked him, twisting Darien's chair around with his foot to look at him. Darien shrugged and pocketed the change.

"Nothing." He told him with a dismissive look. "Its getting late and I have a report to do. See you later." He told him and Andrew studied him. Uncomfortable under the scrutiny, Darien left without saying anything else.

XOXO

"He was so cute!" Raye gushed when they entered Serena's empty house. Her parents were gone for the week and her brother was staying the night at one of his friends' house, so she and the girls were having a sleep over too. "And you had to klutz out at the worst time Serena." She said in a playful huff and slipped out of her shoes in the doorway entrance.

"It was an accident. And if I remember right, Mina was the one who bumped me. She wanted to get to Andrew before I did." Serena sent an accusing glare at her blonde haired friend who skated across the freshly wax floor of her living room in her golden socks.

"Sure, blame it on me." Mina said in an airy voice and plopped on the couch.

"I'm surprised he let you go so easily. There was something in his eyes that made me think you would get a talking to." Lita said, stretching next to Mina on the couch.

"It happened so fast I don't think he had time to comprehend the situation." Ami said with a smile, shaking off her bagpack, hanging it neatly on the coat rack.

"Yeah, seeing the way you were touching his crotch. The look on your face when you realized what you were doing was priceless!" Raye belted out with a giggle and a slap on the knee. Serena's face flushed and she glared at her friend.

"I was trying to help!" She protested, feeling the embarrassment creep to the roots of her hair. She kicked off her sandals and slipped her feet into her waiting pair of pink bunny slippers, stomping to a living room chair and grabbing the remote.

"Aww, don't be that way Sere. What happened happened. You can't change his first impression on you now." Mina said soothingly to her.

"I don't care what he thought of me." Serena huffed with a pout, flipping through the channels. But she did, secretly she did anyway. And with one of _Andrews's_ friends, of course she could never live down this moment. Behind his polite words, she saw he was irritated with her. And she tried to make it better with the change, but she knew it wouldn't be. Oh, of all the stupid things she did, why did she have to embarrass herself in front of Andrew's friend?

"You shouldn't Serena." Lita told her encouragingly and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Come on, show me what your mom has in the kitchen and I'll make us something good for dinner." Lita said, pulling Serena in the kitchen.

After Dinner, the girls settle in the living room, where they put on a scary movie. They were all huddled together under a blanket when Serena's communicator went off. There were collective groans.

"You know, I never even saw Luna when we got home." Serena commented in an offhand tone as she flipped the pink device open.

"Serena, come to the city aquarium right away!" Luna said quickly and then the image faded with static. Raye kicked off the covers with Mina mumbling about how inconsiderate she was. They all transformed and raced to the aquarium. Jupiter blasted the doors open and they entered, alert to their surroundings.

The security lights dully illuminated the blue hallways where pictures of marine life dotted the wall. Cautiously, they crept down the hallway where they entered the inner part of the building with glass walls. Sailor Moon peered into the tank and saw fishes swimming majestically with bigger whales. In the center of the room, there was a tall, tube like tank with a dozen jellyfish swimming in the neon colored water. Then, in the distance, they heard something scratching against the floor. Sailor Moon motioned them against the wall, where they proceeded deeper in the marine sanctuary. They saw the yomen's hand pressed against the glass where it was in deep concentration. The whales in the tank swam to it, like they were hypnotized or something. Sailor Moon pointed to Mercury and she nodded in understanding.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" She called out and froze the yomen in place before it had time to react.

"Go go!" Mars told her and Sailor Moon reached for her scepter. But before the words even escaped her mouth, somehow, she was phased inside the tank. It took her precious seconds to realize what had happened. She saw her scouts look at her in shock beyond the thick glass of the tank.

How had she got in there in the first place?! The yomen was frozen in place! It was when the scouts were blasted into the glass when she saw the second one. Her lungs burned and she clawed her way up. But the tank was deep and she was frightened as to what was in the tank. Being with two ton water mammals was not her idea of safe. Back dots swam in her vision and she swam faster. When she thought that she would drown for sure, someone wrapped their arms around her waist and hoisted her up to them. Warm lips settled over hers and they breathed precious air into her mouth. She sucked it in greedily and blinked her eyes open to see Tuxedo Mask floating next to her he pointed up with his thumb, and together, they broke to the surface. She gasped, sputtering widely and swam to a feeding ramp where she pulled herself up. Her teeth chattered. It was warmer in the water then outside of it! And she held herself, shivering, rubbing her arms to get warm.

"Here." He said, turning her to face him and took off his cape, wrapping it around her shaking shoulders. It was wet, but warm from his body heat.

"Th-thank you." She said through her chattering teeth and he picked her up and took her to the girls where only one of the yomen remained. She fumbled with her scepter, and held it with shaking hands. But she was so cold, that she dropped it with a loud clang. She reached down and picked it up, and tried again, holding it with both hands. She shook her head, trying to concentrate when behind her, his hands covered hers and he leaned down, with his cheek against hers. Now, she trembled with an all new reason. She gulped and his hands tightened on hers.

"Moon scepter elimination!" She called out and the monster was dusted.

"Good job." He murmured, causing goosebump to rise on her arms, and he brushed his lips against her temple, before leaving her, with his cape still around her.

XOXO

It was all over the newspapers the next day. And not just a minor paragraph, the major headlines. How the photographers got to the yomen battle was beyond him. They were like little flies, sneaking in without notice, until they start to bother you.

He studied the picture in front of him as he sat outside a local cafe. The photo was when he had breathed air into her. But the angle the photographer shot was way different that what had actually transpired. To the reader, it looked like a romantic, loving kiss. The way he was holding her, his hand on her chin, her eyes closed as the water made their skin look flawless. Her arms hung limply down, and his hand was barely below her breast. He rubbed his chin. Did he actually get that close to touching her like that? When he turned the page there was three more pictures. One where he was putting his cape around her, and they were facing one another, one where he was carrying her back to the battle with her clinging closely to him, her face in the crook of his neck and the last one was rather a good one where he was helping her hold onto the scepter, the corner of his lips against her temple. He could still feel her damp hair on his forehead, and her arms trembling from cold, her fingers numb from the biting night.

"So do we get the details not included in this morning's paper?" He recognized Nephrite's voice. There were more shuffling of shoes and chairs scraping against the cement. His friends all settled in their chairs and waited expectantly.

"Its not what it looks like." He told them after a long pause and set the paper down. "They make things look exaggerated. I was just helping." He said, linking his fingers together.

"This kiss really looks like it was helping." Zoicite said sarcastically, tapping the picture. Darien waved that comment away and stirred his steaming coffee he ordered earlier.

"And what about this picture? Did you have to stand so close to her like that?" Jadeite asked lazily, with mirth shining in his eyes. Darien glanced at the picture. He didn't even know why he stood so close to her. She smelled like ocean water and sweet bubblegum. At first it was just to warm her, but there was some kind of reaction deep inside his body. It was pure…want? Longing? Maybe even lust? It shocked him to want someone so much and not even know them.

"This is great for our report!" Jadeite suddenly exclaimed. "Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask will have a lot to talk about when this _romance_ begins to interfere what whatever mission they have. Or even your job. You're going to have to talk sooner or later." He said. Darien frowned. He was weirdly right. All this attention to an overstated relationship was going to cause tension and unease. And he needed the scouts to find the missing Silver Crystal and dream princess.

"It's not like I thought about that when these pictures were taken." He protested, more to himself that his friends.

"Exactly." Jadeite said with a smug smile.

XOXO

Serena was sitting at a corner booth in the Crown Arcade staring speechless at the paper. She couldn't say a word when she first saw it and it was no different two hours later as she mulled over the headline. She didn't like her counterpart's love life splashed all over so the whole country knew. And what was worse, it wasn't even true! They totally misconstrued the whole thing, making the readers believe that there was something going on between them. She sighed and looked over the stupid pictures, admitting that she looked rather good in them.

"Another Serena?" Andrew interrupted her thoughts as he slid another strawberry shake to her and collected her empty glass.

"Sure. Can you believe this?" She asked motioning to the paper spread in front of her. Andrew smile and nodded.

"Sure can. They look good together don't they?" He asked and left with a wink. She sighed and folded the paper back up. She sipped her shake moodily. She needed to lighten up. Deciding to play a game, Serena stood up and spun on her heel, heading to the new Sailor V game when she bumped into someone tall and hard. Her shake tipped onto their black shirt and dropped to the ground with a splatter and a crash of broken glass. Who she ran into was just as shocking. It was the same guy she ran into two days ago! She flushed.

"Not again." He groaned and wiped the pink shake off his shirt with his hands.

"Why is it always you?" She moaned and squatted to pick up the glass. She was in such a hurry, she accidentally cut her finger on one of the pieces. She gasped and popped the bleeding finger in her mouth, her eyes watering instantly.

"Don't do that!" He snapped at her and yanked her to her feet.

"Hey!" She protested as he dragged her behind the counter and into the employee lounge.

"Andrew, do you have any antibiotics cream and a band-aid?" He barked out to his friend. Andrew saw Serena's bleeding finger and rushed into the lounge, fumbling with the medicine cabinet to get the materials. He turned on the water and gently washed the blood from the cut. Serena tried to hide her wince as the harsh water hit her marred skin. Strangely, the memory of when Tuxedo Mask helped her with her cut arm came to mind. She frowned, wondering why this rude guy was making her remember things that happened when she was Sailor Moon. He turned off the water and grabbed a paper towel, squeezing her finger until Andrew came with the band-aid.

"Oww." She whined when he yanked her hand up to look at the cut. She glared at him. "You don't have to hold my hand so tightly." She hissed at him which he ignored.

"It's your own fault Meatball Head that you're in this predicament anyways." He muttered, his dark blue eyes studying how deep it was. Serena puffed with outrage.

"What did you call me?" She yelled, trying to yank her hand away. But it was firmly in his grasp, and the more she struggled, the more it hurt.

"Hold still." He hissed back and took the cream from Andrew, dabbing it on with a finger and pasting a band-aid on it.

"That thing is ugly. Don't you have one with flowers on it?" She asked in a hopeful voice to Andrew. Andrew cracked a smile and shook his head no.

"Flowers." Darien muttered darkly and Serena glared at him. She didn't like his tone. When he was finished taping a band-aid over the tip of her finger, Serena snatched her hand back.

"Looks like a brown thimble." She muttered turning her finger around for inspection.

"Be more careful next time." Darien told her, throwing away the band-aid wrapper.

"Well sooorry." She told him and folded her arms. "You came out of nowhere like some kind of ghost or something. All I did was try to pick up the mess you made me drop and you manhandle me like…like…" She didn't know what to compare that to. He smirked at her which only fueled her annoyance. To think she had been nice to him the other day…she thought darkly.

"Now you owe me a new shirt." He said smartly. Serena held her tongue, refusing to speak to him. But he lifted one of his black brows at her and she let out an angry growl, turning and leaving before she called him things she knew were very very bad.

XOXO

"Dare, why did you just do that?" Andrew asked in amusement, although he refused to show it. The man had enough sense to look a little apologetic.

"I couldn't help myself." He said, speaking the truth. He never acted like that before. They had a pleasant exchange the other day, with him forgiving her for spilling his coffee. Maybe the cynical side of him found it amusing, albeit annoying that it happened to him a second time, by the same person.

"You should say sorry. Serena can hold a grudge for a long time." Andrew said, replacing the kit back into the cabinet. Darien agreed, halfheartedly and looked for her in the arcade, but she had gone.

"Hey Darien!" The door chime rang and his friends entered, one after another. Andrew greeted them cheerily.

"Were you headed out?" Zoicite asked him. Darien nodded and they said their byes to Andrew and followed him.

"Where are you going?" Nephrite asked as they crossed the street. He told them what had happened and they all took playful jibes at him, much to his annoyance.

"It's the Sailor Scout!" He heard a girl yell and he and his friends turned to one another in confusion. Soon, a rush of fans ran past them and he had no choice but to follow them. It was strange, because he didn't feel the urgency of battle. As they rounded a corner and crossed three streets, they saw the Sailor Scouts poising for shots and signing autographs. He stared at them in disbelief. Using their hero status to boost their popularity. He thought angrily. It's like they weren't taking their duties seriously.

"Come on, let's go this way. When they have to leave, we'll catch them alone." Darien said moodily and he and his friends went through an ally. They didn't have to wait long. Soon the girls were sailing through the tops of the buildings and they landed in a deserted delivery area, away from prying eyes.

"Let's go." Kunzite whispered to them and they moved from the shadows of the ally to confront the scouts.

"Heyyy-" Jadeite began to speak just as the scouts touched their broaches. Darien and the others watched in utter shock as their uniforms began to glow and turn back into civilian clothes. The Scouts must have realized what had just happened, because their mouths were open. The whole group stood in silence.

"Serena?" Darien managed to choke out in utter astonishment and the young girl just stared at him with big blue eyes.

"Venus love me chain encircle!" One of Serena friends called out and a golden heart chain shot out from her finger. He turned to see that Zoicite was backing away. The attack alarmed the guys, because they too backed away, looking for an escape.

XOXO

"Shit!" Raye cursed and took off for one of the guys. The others flowed suit, separating to tackle the escaping party. Raye shot off through an ally, her eyes set on the guy with short, curly blonde hair. He was pretty fast, because she had to run in an all out sprint to keep up with him. They were in the back of various stores, and he dashed around another, skidding around another, bumping into wet, moldy cardboard boxes as he made his get away.

"Mars fire surround!" She called out her attack when she saw he entered an open space and the fireballs surrounded him, halting him in his place. Panting hard, she concentrated on her attack, making it rotate around him faster and faster until it was like a ring of fire surrounding him.

"Walk slowly to me. Don't make any sudden moves, or try to escape. My fire will burn you to a crisp if you barley touch it." She warned. She saw the battle in the guys's blue eyes, but his shoulders slumped in defeat and he did as she said, with anger burning in his eyes.

XOXO

Lita jumped across one of the buildings, keeping a close eye on the guy with long dark brown hair. He was tall, his legs long, so it was quite a feat to keep up with him. But she liked a challenge. She jumped to a smaller building top, and another until she landed swiftly on the pavement right behind him.

"Jupiter thunder clap!" She called out and aimed the attack to the ground. It hit with a loud rumbled, making the ground shake and making him lose his balance, his feet crossed and she jumped on his back, knocking him to the ground. She heard him whoosh out air. She put a knee to his back and a hand to the ground. Soon, a bubble of static electricity formed, powerful enough to lift him from the ground and hold him in place. She took a quick look around to see if anyone saw, but when it was all clear, she took him back to where Mina held the other.

XOXO

Ami followed the one with long platinum long hair. But instead of running like the others, he turned and faced her. She was surprised and a little nervous that he was challenging her. His eyes were cold as stone. His jaw set in determination.

"I make it a habit not to hit girls." He told her in a smooth, dark voice and Ami narrowed her eyes.

"Are you making an exception this time?" She asked him, raising a haughty brow.

"If I have to." He told her. Ami stiffened, not sure how to handle that. She didn't want to hurt him, but if he made the first move…

"I don't want to shed unnecessary blood either. So why don't you just come with me." She told him, holding out her hand as a gesture of goodwill. But the guy was pretty cautious and he went on the defensive right away.

"Hell no. Who's to say you and the others won't kill me if I do?" He asked her, taking a step back.

"We don't hurt humans. We protect them." She bit back. But he stayed where he was and she had no choice. She moved quickly, even for him. As he turned to run again, she called out her attack "Shine Aqua Illusion!" Freezing his feet, making him trip to the ground, and before he broke loose, she froze him from the head down. She made a frozen pathway all the way back to where the others were, pushing him with her foot across the smooth icy surface.

XOXO

Serena lost sight of Darien's retreating back, but soon found him again running through the alley she and the girls went through. She could tell he was trying to make it to the surface streets, where people were, and she had to move fast before he did.

"Stop Darien!" She called out to him and summoned her tiara out of thin air, surprised that she could do that without transforming, she threw it and it hit the corner wall and swung back around. Serena used her hand to make it hit him in the back of the knees. The tiara did so and he stumbled, falling into a puddle of water. The scene was so funny, Serena smothered a giggle. This wasn't a time for laughing! She scolded herself harshly and the tiara came back to her. She made it disappear quickly. But now she had no weapons and a very pissed off Darien was getting up. Damn, she should have thought this out before she even attempted to stop him!

"Venus love me chain encircle!" Out of nowhere, Mina's golden chain shot out and wrapped itself firmly around his arms. He grunted as they tightened and Mina pulled him to his feet.

"You okay?" She asked Serena and she nodded, wiping her sweaty hands on her pants.

"Are the others…" She began.

"Taken care of." She said brightly and pulled on her chain for Darien to follow. He did so obediently, glaring daggers at the two girls. Serena felt a little bad about him being tied up, but she couldn't do anything about it. Without another word, the girls joined up with the others who waited patiently with the rest of Darien's friends. Mina had them all tied up, separately of course, and the men were sitting on the ground fuming. Mina sat Darien down with the others and the girls all shared looks with one another.

"Now what?" Serena asked them…

XOXO

AN: Hope you enjoyed it. I won't continue this story until later, probably will add chapter two in late August. We'll see when that times comes…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"You just _had_ to run Zoicite." One of the guys said angrily, the one with the short blonde hair.

"Hey, I wasn't running. This report idea was yours to begin with." Serena guessed it was Zoicite who spoke back, the girly looking one with the strawberry blonde hair. The girls ignored the squabbling between the two men and focused on more pressing matters. Like what they were going to do with them and worse, who was going to tell Luna what just happened

"She's your cat Serena. It's your responsibility." Raye had told her. Like that would happen. Luna went on and on when she was in one of her moods and she would never hear the end of it. Just because Luna lived with her, and Serena feed her and bathed her, bought nice little collars for her and cute little catnip toys every allowance and took her to the vet didn't mean she was _solely_ responsible for her…

"What! That's not fair!" She whined back. Raye just shrugged and turned away from her. A signal that the conversation was over. But Serena wasn't going to just end it there. "We _all_ have to tell her." She said stubbornly, glancing back at the guys tied up at their feet. They were seething still.

"Help! Someone! We're being kidnapped by butch girls!" Zoicite cried out.

"Butch?" Serena asked shrilly glancing at her skinny arms.

"How dare you!?" Lita shouted and summoned a bolt of electricity. It wasn't very big, but it did the trick and Zoicite screamed like a girl when she shocked him in the stomach with it. Raye called him a sissy and Mina was giggling.

"Anyone else?" Lita threatened. The guys remained silent. Zoicite was smoking and seething, but he learned his lesson and stayed silent.

"Now, Serena's right. We all have to tell Luna about this mishap." Ami finally said, getting back to the previous conversation.

"But what do we do with them?" Lita asked with a hand on her hip.

"I don't know. We can't let them go, that's for sure." Raye said.

"Hey, we're right here you know. Don't talk about us is if we weren't." The one with the long platinum blonde hair snapped at them. Mina raised a brow in his direction and ignored him.

"They can't stay at my place." She said seriously, making it a point to ignore him. Serena knew it was just to get him angry, but right now, she wasn't sure if she should get him angry. He looked like he could break out of his chains at any moment.

"Hey Serena, aren't your parents out of town?" Lita asked her. Serena froze, a childish whine escaping her lips.

"No way Lita! Having them at my house? With Mr. Meanie touching my things and eating _my_ food?" She asked pointing an accusing finger at Darien. "I don't think so." She said shaking her head.

"Mr. Meanie? Was he the one who made you mad earlier?" Ami asked. Serena's eye grew round with Ami's show of sympathy and she nodded.

"Yes, Mr. Zero Personality." She said. The scouts all glowered at Darien and surrounded Serena like mother hens, soothing their young.

"Poor thing. And you were so nice to him the other day." Mina said pulling Serena's head to her chest and stroking her hair lovingly.

"I was wasn't I?" She asked and sniffed a couple of times.

"Way to go Darien." Zoicite shot at him and mumbled something about him having no suave when it came to women which had Darien giving him a cutting glare. "Now we'll never be free." He mumbled.

"Hey…" Darien began in a protest.

"Hey, be quiet." Raye snapped at him. "To think I thought you were cute!" She told him and continued to rub Serena's back as she glared.

"Do you think I'm cute?" The guy with the short blonde hair asked her hopefully. Raye studied him and shrugged.

"Eh." She said and turned back to Serena. There was a laugh and then…

"Oww Jadeite! Why did you kick me?" Demanded the guy with the long blonde hair, rubbing his shin with his foot, glaring at the guy, Jadeite.

"Because you were laughing at me." He shot at him and turned away from his friend, his nose in the air.

"Wait, wait, wait." Ami stopped the guys fighting, her face suddenly very serious.

"What?" Serena asked lifting her head at her tone and peering curiously at her friend and eying the men at her feet like they did something wrong just now.

"Zoicite." She pointed to Zoicite. "Jadeite…" Her finger paused as she turned it to the guy with the long brown hair. "Nephrite, Kunzite." She whispered, her eyes settling on each of the guys. "The Generals of the Dark Kingdom." She finally said and silence fell. The thick air was cut in half by one of the scouts.

"I'll handle this!" Lita declared in a heroic voice and summoned a huge ball of electricity, holding it above her head.

"Wait Lita!" Serena cried and put a halting hand on her arm. Jeeze, let her get as far as she could away first before she did something! Serena thought.

"Yes please." Ami said in her calm and serene voice, whipping out her little blue computer. There was a look of pure concentration on her face as she began typing on the little keys.

"Aww." Lita moaned, totally bummed that she couldn't finish her attack. Depressed, she let the ball of electricity fade away until only a little green strand was left. She aimed that at Darien's head and _poof_, his glossy black hair stood up on ends. Serena blinked a couple of times to comprehend what just happened and then kneeled over with roaring laughter. She laughed so hard, her stomach began to cramp and her lips turned blue from lack of air.

"That was for making Serena mad earlier." Lita told him smugly. Darien's eyes crossed as he attempted to look up at his statically charged hair, which only made Serena laugh harder and stumble around like a drunk, hitting her knees with her hands and bumping into Raye who moodily pushed her away. She didn't want to get knocked into a dirty, grimy alley wall.

"He looks like that guy…Don Juan." Mina commented and Lita smiled, giving Mina a little pat on her head.

"Don King dear. Don King." She said patiently. And Mina shrugged it off.

"Hey, for your information, Darien was coming to apologize." Nephrite butted in, but recoiled when five pairs of burning eyes settled on him. "Er…I think." He stammered and shut his eyes tightly. "Please don't hurt my hair!" He pleaded. Lita was thoughtful, studying his shiny mahogany locks.

"Fine, if you tell me one thing." She said in a dead serious voice, leaning into stare at him closely. Nephrite popped one eye open.

"What?" He asked in a frightened whisper, still worried that she might make his hair frizzy.

"What kind of shampoo do you use?" She asked fumbling with the damaged tips of her hair. Nephrite said something about coconut and mango, and then he and Lita engaged into a deep discussion about leave-in conditioners.

"Personally, I don't really use them because they make my hair heavy, but Zoicite uses them…"

"It's because my curls are so temperamental and—" Zoicite threw back his head of hair to make his point but then he was interrupted.

"I got it!" Ami declared loudly, snapping her computer closed with a triumphant look on her face.

"What?" Raye asked her. "Are they evil? Can we kill them?" She asked in a hopeful voice, hauling Jadeite up by the chains and summoning a fire ball. Jadeite pleaded 'no', shaking his head wildly and tried to get his body as far away from her fireball as he could. Ami shook her head, her blue locks whipping around her face.

"No. They're not from the Dark Moon Kingdom." She said. "Actually, it shows me that they're just normal humans." She said with a small shrug. Raye looked crestfallen as she let him drop back down letting her fireball fade away. Jadeite scooted closer to Kunzite, regarding Raye cautiously while he muttered things under his breath.

"But why do they have those names and look like the generals of the Dark Moon?" Serena asked, squatting down a safe distance from them, studying them like they were a science project gone terribly wrong. She wanted to poke their cheeks to see for herself if Ami's computer was telling the truth.

"That is something I don't know." Ami said, placing a thoughtful finger to her chin. Her blue eyes went heavenward as if she were looking through the million of thoughts that ran through her brilliant head.

"Hey, tell us why you have those names!" Raye demanded, summoning another fire ball, throwing it up with one hand and catching it menacingly. The guys all exchanged looks with one another and then all started talking at once.

"And don't lie!" Raye called above their voices. Then all of the sudden they were silent. Serena let out a sigh and sat on of the cement steps they were close to. This was going no where. She knew they wouldn't tell them anything. Uhh, she was so hungry!

"It's getting dark guys." Ami said, staring at the sky, gently turning to dusk. The air chilled and Serena shivered as a warm ripple shot down her back. Rubbing her arms, she let out a yawn.

"I know, and we can't keep them out here. Someone from one of the stores might decide come out back." She told them, glancing briefly, her eyes settling of Darien. He had remained quiet during all of this. She didn't know him very well, but she knew when someone's mind was at work.

She had surmised that the guys were in college. Probably eighteen or nineteen from the looks of it. She wasn't really worried that they could escape, because Mina's chains were pretty strong. The deal right now was what to do with them in the meantime. They needed to sort things out and find Luna and Artemis, and see what they had to say.

"So, Serena's?" Raye asked the girls. Serena let her shoulders slump with defeat.

"I guess." She mumbled, rubbing her head. There was no other place for them to go. I suppose part of her was grateful that her parents were out on vacation for the week. She didn't know what she would have told them if they were home.

"No, we won't tell anyone." Jadeite said quickly. Raye snorted.

"Yeah right." She said hotly.

"Okay everyone, let's transform. We have to carry them over the building tops and to Serena's house. Stick to the shadows, we don't want anyone to see us with them." Mina said in a chop-chop voice, clapping her hands.

"We have to carry them?" Serena asked in an appalled voice looking over the guys that were way, way bigger than her. The idea that she had to strain herself just to get them over buildings was horrifying!

"How else are we to get them there?" Lita asked her in an almost bored voice. She looked at her nails and then slowly back at the men in chains.

"Well, we could…uh…I mean…" She desperately tried to think of another way. She didn't want to have to carry a guy that weighed more than her. And her house was far away too! How could fate be so mean?

"See." Mina said raising an eyebrow to make a point.

"It won't be so bad Serena." Raye said in an exasperated voice and pulled out her changing wand. "With our magically enhanced strength, they'll be pretty light." She told her. One of the guys snorted, not believing her.

"Muscle weights more that fat, and I'm pretty ripped." Zoicite bragged, puffing out his chest and looked down at it with appreciation and pride. Serena smothered a smirk at Raye's unimpressed expression. But Serena suspected that Zoicite's ego was so big he didn't see it. Two of the guys, Nephrite and Jadeite rolled their eyes.

"So, let's get to it." Mina said brightly and the girls all transformed. When the lights of their transformation died down, Serena saw that all of the guys were starting at them with their mouth open, in shock. Even Darien and the cold guy Kunzite were speechless for some reason.

"Uh, can you transform again?" Jadeite asked, his eyes bright, like he had a fever or something. He focused on Raye's chest, hoping they would do it again. Serena sucked in a breath, and saw Ami's face gradually redden with an embarrassment.

"Pervert!" Raye shrieked and slapped him hard against the cheek, snapping his head to the side. Jadeite chuckled, and Raye's mouth opened and closed, trying to find the right words. But Serena saw Raye's faint blush creep to her cheeks. Serena sneaked at look at Darien. He seemed to have recovered from their brief flash of nudity and smirked at her, his eyes steadily staring at her, an ink black eyebrow raised slightly.

"Oops, my mistake." Mina said, waving the scene off with her hand. She and Lita didn't seem particularly disturbed about what had just happened. "Okay girls, grab a guy." She said and chose Kunzite. Serena watched in fascination as she slung him over her shoulder like a sack of cotton. He grunted at the unpleasant experience of helplessness.

"Damn girl! Let me down!" He protested, his jaw muscle tightening in anger. Serena was glad she didn't have to take him. He was so wiggly…

"Let's go. Upsee-Daisy." Lita said pleasantly and huffed Nephrite into her arms, carrying him like he the bride and she the groom. And then she was off.

"Oohh, Mars! Carry me. Carry me!" Jadeite said, hopping to her. Raye grimaced and gave him an annoyed look. But she did and carried him like Mina carried Kunzite.

"Serena. Grab him and let's go." Ami said, with Zoicite in her arms. She could tell Ami was trying to ignore Zoicite's snickering. But with him so close to her, in her arms, Ami couldn't stop the blush that stole up her face. Serena nodded and walked in front of Darien. He sat in silence, watching intently. She fought the butterflies in her stomach. With one hand, she pulled him up by the chains. He waited patiently as she hesitated. Oh how she wished she could wipe that dirty smirk off his face!

"I don't want to ride backwards." He simply told her. Serena bit her lip and turned kneeling low so she could carry him on her shoulder. When he was comfortable, she struggled to get to her feet, gritting her teeth when her legs screamed out in agony.

"Heavy?" He asked her pleasantly. She smiled smugly and with all her strength, she leapt to the building top. Darien wheezed out when she purposely landed hard. If she had to suffer, so did he she thought evilly, a snicker bubbling over.

"You okay?" She asked in bright sarcasm when they landed hard on another building. He grunted and wiggled in his chains, making them dig painfully into her shoulder.

"Fine." He grounded out and Serena bit her lip hard, tasting the coppery tang of blood in her mouth. She had caught up with the others, just as they dropped two houses down from her own house.

"Go through the back door." She told them and they did so. Serena pushed Darien off her shoulder as soon as her feet touched the ground and he stumbled back, hitting the outside wall as he regained his balance. Lita, Ami and Mina gently put their bundles down and Raye dropped Jadeite unceremoniously in a chair, puffing and glaring at him.

"If you say one more thing about my boobs…" She threatened, shaking a fist and taking a menacing step towards him.

"Some friends you have here Darien." Serena muttered.

"He's always been like that." He said with a lazy shrug.

"And I'll never change!" He quipped brightly and then smiled pleasantly like a next door neighbor getting a morning paper at Raye. "And for your information Mars, those things I said were a compliment. Can't take a compliment?" He drawled lazily. Raye took three deep, inconspicuous breaths and then as if a light bulb clicked on she smiled haughtily at him.

"Shut up or I'll tell Mina to tighten your chains." She leaned down, both hands on the chair's arm rests, inches from his face. Jadeite shut his mouth, when he found himself suddenly very close to her. So close he could see the blue flecks in her purple eyes. "So tight, you can't breath." She said in a husky tone. "Just like you can't breath now." She said and moved swiftly away from him sweeping her soft, luxurious hair across his chin like a feather, leaving Jadeite in somewhat of a daze. Serena couldn't help a grin. Raye Raye Raye. She was such a character.

"Open the door already. It's starting to get cold." Zoicite whined. He's such a baby. "And in case you forgot, Darien is wet. He could catch a cold." Zoicite pointed out. That was right! Serena cast a guilty look his way. He must be freezing and he hasn't said anything about it. She touched her broach, and then suddenly stopped. Trotting behind Lita and Raye, she de-transformed. She dug into the back pocket of her faded blue pants. Her fingers plucked the silver key out and she inserted it in the doorknob. Darkness greeted them and she flipped the lights on.

"Okay guys, file in." Mina said. Jadeite frowned.

"You're not going to carry us in?" He asked Raye. She glared defiantly at him.

"You can hop." She grunted and hauled him up by the chains. Jadeite grumbled saying she treated her guests badly or something. But the guys all hopped inside. Serena was at the end of the people chain, and laughed at the sight they made, especially Kunzite, because he didn't hop like the rest. He walked, like a pigeon toed duck and wobbled inside. Then finally when they were inside, the guys wheeled on their heels and sat on the plush couch. Jadeite settled himself in the deep cushions, nodding in approval.

"Comfy?" Mina asked them. There were grumbles and Serena flipped on the light to the kitchen. The white countertops were shiny and it smelled faintly of lemon soap.

"I'm so hungry!" Serena groaned out loud and yanked open the fridge door. "Did we have any leftovers from dinner yesterday?" She asked glancing behind her should to Lita.

"We did Meatball Head, but you ate them this morning after two huge bowls of cereal." Raye told her. Serena let out a little whimper and closed the refrigerator door.

"We'll get some pizza okay?" Mina said and flipped open her yellow, happy face cell phone. "I have them on speed dial." Sitting on the sofa, Mina covered the mouthpiece. "Should we get something for them as well?" She asked. Serena smothered a grimace

"Yes. They are our responsibility." Ami spoke up after a little pause.

"Aww, like little puppies!" Mina exclaimed. The girls giggled.

"We can hear you!" Zoicite yelled from the living room.

Ignoring him, Raye turned to Serena. "Call Luna and Artemis and have them get here as soon as possible." Serena sighed and left the kitchen, trudging upstairs to get her communicator in her sock drawer. While she was up there, she went into her parents' room and pulled a clean tee-shirt from her dad's dresser. She was a little concerned about Darien since he was in a wet shirt. The last thing she wanted was for him to get sick. She smiled when a wayward thought entered her mind. If Darien got sick, she would have to dress in a black shiny leather outfit with a whip and tell the doctors she was dominatrix mistress to explain why he was in chains. _Wapish!_

At the bottom of the stairs she punched in Luna's code on her communicator and left a message. She entered the front room to see Mina and Lita sitting on the coffee table in front of the guys. They were cross-legged and had a bowl of popcorn they were sharing.

"So you were born human." Mina said staring intently at their faces and stuffed a handful of popcorn in her mouth, crunching it loudly. Some of the guys exchanged looks, but nodded all the same.

"And coincidently, you all have the same names of the Dark Moon Kingdom's generals and look just like them?" Lita raised a skeptical brow.

"Looks like it doesn't it." Kunzite sneered. Mina smile and turned to Lita.

"Snippy isn't he?" She asked and stuffed another handful of popcorn in her mouth. Lita nodded once.

"Very."

"Here, I got Darien a shirt." Serena spoke up. Their attention turned to her and she held up the shirt. Mina stood up and put a hand to her hip.

"That's great…but…uh…how is he going to change into it without the chains coming off?" Serena frowned at the predicament and slung the shirt over her shoulder.

"Those chains are not coming off, but the last thing we need is him getting sick." Raye piped in and turned to Ami who was standing apart from the group.

"I have an idea!" Zoicite said brightly, and then his face turned dark and evil. "Let us go!"

"Not possible." A pert voice rang though the room. The girls all turned their attention to Luna and Artemis that came strolling in through a window.

"Luna!" Serena exclaimed for all of the scouts. She nervously twisted her hands in her shirt. Luna was so uptight with their identities and their missions. Every time she read a story in the paper about the scouts, she sizzled with anger. And she was out right insulted when stories of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were aired. It seemed a little strange that Luna would go psycho over something like that. Serena had told her over and over that there was nothing to worry in that department. Sure he was cute, and sure, he looked really really…really good dressed in black, but she knew nothing about him. She knew that his mission and her mission were one in the same, but she was killing the evil yomen and getting the crystals to make the Silver Crystal, and he was doing it for a more…personal reason. She didn't know what it was and what interest he had in finding it. It always troubled her.

"Ahh a talking cat!" Jadeite cried. Nephrite rolled his eyes and Zoicite muttered something under his breath.

"This is serious girls. Haven't I told you time and time again to keep an eye on your surroundings?" Luna cried in an exasperated tone, twitching her tail sharply. Her eyes gave each girl an intense glare and they burned with unsaid words. "Because of your foolishness, we have to deal with something I have no idea how to deal with." She gave the guys on the couch a brief, annoyed look and then turned back to the girls. "Explain how this happened."

The girls were silent, giving one another a thoroughly chastised look.

"Earlier, we saw Zoicite and Jadeite. They were among a group of young children. From the way they were looking at them, I surmised that they were planning another attack." Mina spoke up.

"We decided to do a public signing to see if they would take the bait and turn their attention to us rather that their plan." Lita interjected.

"It seemed like a good idea. We were only in uniform for like fifteen minutes before we decided that they were not going to go for it." Serena said weakly.

"We didn't check our surroundings thoroughly before we changed." Mina finished. Luna said nothing, but her whipping tail showed Serena that she was holding her tongue. Serena fidgeted a little.

"So, now they are here, seated on the couch. Just what do we have planned for them?" Luna finally spoke in a cool, controlled voice.

"Planned?" Zoicite said in an alarmed voice, stiffening.

"Oooh, all sorts of things." Mina said evilly, rubbing her hands together. Zoicite let out a little noise that sounded like strained whimper, and kept looking from one girl to another. Raye smiled as well, and caught Jadeite's attention. He seemed to loose his train of thought as he stared at her because his eyes were glossy and clouded like he was having a fantasy.

"We have to keep them here because they might tell someone about us." Serena stated the obvious, fumbling with the shirt over her shoulder. "But, how are we going to do that? My parents are coming home in one week and my brother comes home tomorrow! What am I going to tell him? He can't stay at his friend's house the entire week because he has school! And what if a yomen comes and we have to leave? Who is going to watch them when were gone? And how about food? And what about-" She was beginning to work herself in a frenzy just thinking about their situation.

"Serena calm down. We'll figure something out." Lita swiftly put a comforting hand on her shoulder and pulled one of her blonde ponytails playfully.

Mina stood in a jump and clapped her hands. "I know how to get the shirt on him!" She exclaimed. Serena and the others exchanged glances. She was way off subject. What the heck was she thinking of through out the whole conversation? Mina flexed her hands and the chains wrapped around Darien's mid section faded. Serena sucked in a breath of panic. What was she doing? He might escape! She took a step back and the girls all surrounded him and cautiously watched. But the chains around his ankle were still there and the chains around his wrist were still there.

"There, now you can just slip his shirt off and put that one on him." Mina declared. Serena straightened.

"Me?" She asked. Nephrite kicked his leg, prodding Darien to stand up.

"I'm fine. It's almost dry anyways." Darien insisted.

"Its filthy and stinky and I doubt you want that touching you." Raye called his bluff with her blunt response and she leaned back on the coffee table and crossed her long legs. Jadeite was just about to say something when she did that, but soon, his mouth opened as he stared. Serena knew Raye well to know that was on purpose. She liked Jadeite despite the way Raye acted around him. Like now, Raye was acting like she didn't notice him drooling over her. Darien hesitated briefly before he stood up.

Serena stepped forward, giving her smirking friends a little glare. They were so mean…

XOXO

Darien waited as she stepped in front of him. She waited as she turned to Mina. Mina raised her hands and he tensed as he felt a special energy shimmer around him and make the golden chains around his wrist tingle and grow a little warm. For a brief second, before he could even do something about it, the chain separated and jerked his wrist apart, only to have the chains snap to the ground, an arm on each side of him. The right chain shimmered away to a semi invisible state still possessing their strength to hold his arms and hands in place. The chains changed again and Mina flicked her wrist and the chains raised his arms over his head.

Everyone watched her show of power in silence, he felt a little embarrassed that he was used in her demonstration, but his shirt was starting to make him itch and it really did smell. Serena's hand came up and tried to touch the chains but her hands passed through. He moved his hands, but they were strangely still immobile. A small blush stole across Serena's cheeks as she gently pulled up the bottom of his shirt. Her fingers brushed against his sides and moved up as she worked the shirt off him. She quickly placed the soiled shirt over her shoulder. On her tippy–toes, she let the cool, clean fabric of the new shirt touch his finger tips and then it slid easily down his arms and settled comfortably on him.

For a brief moment, before she stepped away from him they shared a look. He was so close to her, he could see the dark purple flecks in her cerulean eyes. The pink of her cheeks and the way her lip were parted pulled at a very sensitive feeling in him. The walls around him trembled. It was so familiar, that look, the feeling of her so close to him. But why? And how? How was she doing this to him when she wasn't even trying? But as soon as she moved away, the feeling left him as well and everything around him turned to normal like the brief moment didn't happen at all. His arms dropped back to his sides roughly and the chains slithered back over his body, covering him shoulders to ankles once again. Serena gently pushed him back on the couch and he fell between Kunzite and Jadeite.

"I'll wash this for you." Serena murmured and hurried out of the room. The talking black cat jumped on his lap and sat pertly down. Her copper eyes searched his face. It was strange looking into this cat's eyes and see so much intelligence in them.

"Artemis and I will think of something to hold them without them having to stay here." Luna said and jumped down. The door bell rang and Mina jumped up with a light squeal.

"The pizza is here!" She said. Serena rushed down the stairs and slid to the door. She greedily took the pizza leaving the poor pizza guy standing with his arms still outstretched wondering what the heck just happened. Ami apologized and gave a few bills to him and then shut the door. Lita, Raye and Mina were already in the kitchen, pulling out plates and he heard the clinking of glasses. The smell of the pizza wafted to them, and his stomach growled. He hadn't eaten since this morning when he grabbed a bran muffin on his way to class. Thankfully the girls were thoughtful enough to make them a plate and Mina conditioned her chains so that their arms could move for them to eat, but the chains weighed them heavily to the couch like an anchor and every time he or the others tried to touch them, Lita would shock their hands away.

The girls chatted aimlessly about something he had no interest in. Throughout the rest of the night it was a bearable experience. They watched girly shows on the television and watched a very interesting pillow fight finding out that Lita was someone not to be messed with.

Everything was going okay until Nephrite spoke.

"I need to go to the bathroom." He said. The girls quieted with horror clearly written in their faces and looked to Mina. Mina thought and thought but no matter how much she thought, there was no way she could keep his chains on without being in the bathroom with him. And how were they going to get him in the bathroom in the first place?

XOXO

AN: I updated a little early because school is starting soon and I have to get ready. _Groan_...only a few more years...only a few more years...

So, go ahead and please leave me a review, it will really make my day...kisses :_MUH_:


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The experience with Nephrite and the bathroom was something not worth talking about in Serena's opinion. Let's just say it used some yarn and a blindfold and a sheet to drag him back to the couch. And Mina couldn't make any eye contact with anyone. In the girl's opinion, Mina was the bravest out of all of them. The nightmare of the experience was something they had to put in the repressed memory area.

The next day late in the afternoon Luna and Artemis came back. They looked really tired and around their necks were five silver bracelets, three around Artemis and two around Luna.

"What have you got there?" Serena asked, crouching in front of them, smoothing her shirt of wrinkles. It was a late night and the girls were wearing the same clothes they had on yesterday. The cats shook the bracelets free from their necks and they clanked to the floor.

"An answer to our problems. Artemis and I spent all night making them." She yawned. Serena pet her head as Luna blinked wearily and Artemis was half lying and half sitting. "I've color coded them to match a scout. For such a complex project, they are simple to use. If they even think of saying anything that might unveil your true identities, a magic stone in them will alert your communicator and will sent a mild shock to a nerve located on the inner wrist. That nerve links to the face, and their mouth and the muscles will contract and they will be—"

"Dead mouthed!" Mina finished brightly.

"Dead mouthed?" Raye asked in a dead mono tone. Mina nodded.

"It took you all night to make these?" Zoicite asked with a snort. "I could have made something like that in four hours!" He said in an offhanded tone. Luna and Artemis bristled.

"Don't belittle our work! Ami put a bracelet on him." Artemis instructed her angrily. Ami picked up the blue one and Mina conditioned his chains for Ami to slip on the bracelet. "Your communicator." Artemis hissed and Ami hesitated a little, but then set it in front of him. Artemis had an evil look on his face and he pressed on one the buttons with a paw and laughed evilly.

"Prepare yourself." He said and soon Zoicite watched as his bracelet turned bright, hot pink.

"Muhaha Muhaha…" Artemis laughed evilly, but Luna sighed.

"Wrong button." She told him and halted his evil laugh.

"Oh, my bad." And then he pushed another button and a rolling shock went through his arm. Zoicite yelped. "Ha ha! See, it has more things they could do to you too."

"However they are only to be used for what I have told you so don't get any ideas." Luna said making eyes contact with each girl. "Raye." She called in a warning voice as Raye held her bracelet in her hand with a sinister smile on her face. Her expression changed quickly.

"Of course Luna." She slid her eyes to Jadeite. "Of course." Jadeite sunk deeper in the couch.

"How did you make them?" Ami asked while she picked up her communicator before Artemis decided to shock Zoicite again. Artemis and Luna exchanged looks.

"Just be careful with them okay? You may not use them for much right now, but those bracelets are very powerful. I wasn't going to use them, but there was nothing else I could use to quell our problem. They are a link to each of you. If something were to happen to them then grave things will affect both parties."

"Like what?" Serena asked. This was sounding pretty serious. She looked at the pretty silver bracelet in her hand. A single pink jewel sparkled at her. There was something strange about this bracelet. I wonder where they got them from.

"It's best not to tell you. More room for avoidance of such things." Artemis answered elusively. It was not the answer Serena wanted, but she couldn't press. She would ask Ami about it later. Almost reluctantly she crouched in front of Darien and slipped his bracelet on. Dread filled her for some reason. Dread that something bad might happen to him for some reason. It was strange to have these fears for him when she didn't really know him and his friends. But somehow, they were all in this together, linked by fate with invisible strings that were pulling things toward them, and away from them.

Their secret lives and identities were no longer just between the girls now. The Scouts were forced to share part of their lives with these strangers that were unfortunate enough to be tossed in their way. Serena would never force the life she and the Scouts shared no matter how annoying these guys were.

"So are we free to go now?" Kunzite asked Mina after she placed her bracelet on him. She grinned and gave his leg a hard slap.

"Yes you big babies!" She said and poof, her chains slithered off each of them one by one. Grumbling, the guys stood up and a few of them stretched.

"How long are we going to keep these on?" Nephrite asked.

"Until you forget." Artemis said. All of the people in the overcrowded living room stilled.

"As long as you wear those bracelets the memory of the girls transforming will fade away until you forget what you saw. Then the bracelets will fade away, and everything will be as it must." Luna said.

"That's kinda sad." Mina said with a frown.

"Why?" Serena asked. Mina gave a troubled sigh.

"To think I'm that forgettable. That's what makes me sad." She said. There were groans and soon the guys all left Serena's house. As soon as the door closed, Raye's communicator went off. The girls shared a look and then ran to the window. In the bright morning sun, they saw Jadeite shake his head. Kunzite yelled at him and punched him in the arm.

"What a loser." Raye murmured, watching him get smaller and smaller. Serena rolled her eyes. She _liked_ him? Huh, that was something strange…I guess opposites attract. She thought and gave into a yawn.

Well, it was a huge relief to finally have them out of her hair. Serena picked up Luna and headed up stairs.

"Where are you going?" Raye asked her. She and the others turned from the window and stuffed their communicators some where.

"To bed. I can finally sleep." Serena called down and then she was out of sight. The girls were left down stairs.

"I am a little tired. My parents are probably wondering why I haven't come home yet." Mina crouched down and picked up a sleepy Artemis.

"We'll follow you out." Lita said and the rest of them left for home.

XOXO

It was night when Serena awoke. She could hear Luna still snoring lightly on her pillow and some sounds of the television down stairs. Sammy must be home, Serena thought with a yawn. As she made her way down stairs, she heard more voices.

"Probably a late night Kenji." She heard her mother. She stopped halfway down the stairs. Her parents were home? They were supposed to be gone for the whole week because her father had to interview some Russian politician for his newspaper.

"Humph, it's still too early for her to sleep. I mean it's almost nine and if she wakes up, then she'll go to bed late and you'll have a hard time getting her up in the morning." She heard her father. He was probably right. She went back to her room and picked up her communicator. She flipped it on, and the blue screen had a small map of Juuban and a small pink blip blinked. She zoomed in and found that it was showing her an apartment complex a good distance away from her house. It was probably Darien's place. It was a nice neighborhood too, close to the college.

"Luna." Serena called to her guardian softly. Luna twitched, but her eyes opened and she stretched. "Luna, you have to tell me more about the bracelets." Serena said to her. Luna opened her mouth, but the young girl gave her a look. "Luna, I need to know the truth." Serena told her sternly. Luna hung her head.

"Arcane Magic. It has been forbidden to use since your Mother was just a girl. But it was the only thing we could use. Tampering with someone's memories is something that one doesn't deal with, but I saw no other way to handle our problem. I used just a little," She said quickly, but then she shook her head as if her own excuse was not a worthy one and she continued, "but even just a little is very dangerous."

"What can happen to the bracelets?" Serena asked, closing her communicator.

"Memories deal with time, and if something were to happen to the bracelets or your communicators then time can change. Memories can change. That's why the magic in the bracelets are only temporary. By the end of this week, the men will have forgotten and things will all return to normal." She said and jumped from the bed. "Don't worry Serena, everything will be alright." She said and left her room. For some reason, the feeling of unease still remained. It was such dangerous magic to use and Luna's assurance was not working for her. She felt like something was going to happen…something bad and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

XOXO

Black clouds clashed together in a loud roar, deafening a faraway scream. He didn't know it was him who was screaming until lightning lit up the glass floors and he saw his reflection. Wind rushed all around him, whipping his cloak like a ragged curtain. His hat toppled from his head and rolled away and the winds blew at his mask, tearing it from his face, leaving his skin naked.

Then everything was still. There was only silence…

He blinked a couple of times. Soon a soft lingering melody floated through the dead air, caressing his ears, making his heart clench for some unknown reason. His soul wept for the chiming notes that skimmed past him, and soft sobbing left an invisible trail behind each note that flew by.

Images rushed past him. Heartbreaking images that he swore he would never think about. His mom, beautiful long black hair and light blue eyes. He could still smell the sweet pea lotion she would use. It mingled with her hair and when she would lean down to hug him, the silky strands sweep across his cheeks. Her laughter was like rich honey, thick and dark, and she laughed a lot…

_Woosh_

The image skated away and another took its place, one of his father, tall, quiet with short spiky black hair and deep blue eyes that mirrored his own. He only saw his father laugh once in his life, but he always had a small, secret smile on his face. He usually wore blue and there was never a wrinkle or a tear in his clothing.

_Woosh_

Another image appeared, floating like heat from a hot desert road. He waited, but the image never took shape, only floated in stilled space like static.

_That's kinda sad…_a mysterious voice spoke crystal clear from the blurred image.

_To think I'm that forgettable…_

In the middle of the obscure image, a small speck of blue grew bigger and bigger until it divided into two.

Blue eyes…laughing blue eyes, troubled blue eyes…unfamiliar blue eyes…and the heartbreaking music was getting softer and softer as the blue eyes faded back into static.

As the dream world began to brighten, he looked at the glass floor. He knew it was a dance floor, and once it was a beautiful silver mirrored floor. But now it's once vibrant life was tarnished and cracked. In the distance he saw a little figure dancing in circles to the melody, and she was alone. She didn't notice him as he approached her, it was like he was a ghost, invisible to everything and everyone.

Wasn't there a man she used to dance with? He thought absently as he watched her twirl elegantly on the tarnished dance floor. The music was coming to an end and she slowed her dance, twirling for a final time before dropping to the floor in a crouch. Her white dress was spread around her like a full moon in a clouded silver sky. The last chime of the music sounded. Her shoulders began to shake and he knew she was crying. He reached out to touch her, but her head shot up and her eyes connected with his. They were so dark with emotion, he yanked his hand back in caution.

_Betrayer…_the word was sung in the air. It was full of anger and sadness and hatred. And those eyes…he thought as the dream began to fade away…

Those blue eyes were the eyes he saw earlier…the unfamiliar ones…

XOXO

Serena was unsure about what she was about to do. The bell _dinged_ as she entered the vacant arcade. Every day since she and the girls let the guys go, she had come to the Crown Arcade to see if she could see any of them. On the third day, she got fed up and asked Andrew where the heck they were. He informed her with a laughing twinkle in his eyes that Darien was one of those antisocial people that brooded in their own world. He didn't enjoy being in a huge crowed, among the public and he only came in early in the morning to grab some coffee before the breakfast rush.

Well, she thought after a sleepless night, she decided to wake up early in order to catch him before he went to school. She knew she looked like crap, but she didn't care. If Luna was right, he would only faintly remember her. Still remember her, but faintly…

The arcade was pretty much empty and it was kinda frightening. But just as Andrew said, a lone figure was lounging on a stool, reading the morning paper. In the bright morning sun, she noticed that his hair was still a little damp from his morning shower. Even from her position by the door, she could smell the sweet, dark scent of his soap.

She took a deep breath and slowly walked to the counter.

"Good morning." She chirped, proud that her nervousness wasn't heard in her greeting. He was a bit startled, and jumped a little, but lucky for her, he didn't have his coffee in his hands. He looked at her and gave her a nod in greeting.

"Good morning." He replied. He lifted the paper back up and disappeared behind it. She felt a little calmer, but she also felt a little irritated that he dismissed her so fast. She glanced at the headlined and nearly gasped out loud.

_Sailor Moon and the Scouts and the Secret Men in Their Lives_. The headline read and she snatched the paper from him and spread it out on the counter, looking in horror at the picture and the matching article.

"Uhh…" He hummed, but she shushed him with a hand and gave her attention to the article. Her eyes scanned the lines, and she shook her head in disbelief.

"How do they get these pictures and crazy ideas?" She cried, flipping the page to read the rest. Apparently, she and the Scouts were spotted, caring their lovers over the buildings to some secret place to have fun. Questions arose and some speculated that the men were some foreign models in for the weekend. She wanted to laugh…

"Don't believe everything you read." She heard Darien comment.

"They put this crap in the newspaper? It should be in some dumb tabloid or something. And why do they think that the guys are some hot foreign models in for the weekend? He doesn't even look like a model." She muttered and pointed to Darien's figure. He took the paper from her.

"How can you tell? It's too dark to even see what they look like." He commented. Serena jerked the paper back in front of her and decided not to say anything more about that.

"_And what about Tuxedo Mask? Is he heartbroken about Sailor Moon's supposed infidelity_?!" She read with an incredulous expression. He wouldn't be…she thought a little distressed. It was a lie…but what would he think if he read this?

"Don't look so troubled. I think Tuxedo Mask knows it's just a stupid story to get some more readers. And you're right; it should be in a tabloid." He said in an efficient, dismissing tone and took his newspaper back. "And why do you care?"

"Because this stupid story is belittling the Scout's work. People read this and think that the Scouts are just some party girls. They forget that they are people who risk their lives for them on a daily basis. Dumb reporters." She muttered darkly. "They never get the story right."

"I'm sorry, but why are you talking to me? Do you just come up to complete strangers and start conversations all the time?" He asked a little snootily. She should have been out raged by his tone, but she was happy! The darn bracelets were working faster that she thought they would. He didn't remember her at all.

"Sorry. I'm Serena." She offered and waited for him to reply. But he simply stared blankly at her. What a jerk she thought…Not even giving him her name. Big pompous…

"Darien." He finally replied. Serena smiled. Well he's not so bad after all.

"Nice to meet you." Her watch beeped and she looked down at the annoying thing. "Well…" She began with a sigh and stood from the bar stool. "Maybe I'll see you around. Have a nice day." She said happily. She had to tell the girls the great news. She thought and breezed out the door. But beyond her newly acquired happiness, she was still a bit unsure. The bad feeling didn't seem to go away, even after her meeting with him. Some unforeseen darkness still hung in the air…

XOXO

Later in the week, two days before the memory wipe was completely over, something bad _did_ happen. It was another battle with Zoicite heading the attack. But this yomen was something that was way different from the other yomens they had faced. For one thing, it was male, and another thing, it had more dark power than all of the yomens they've faced so far. The Black Moon Kingdom must have pulled out all the stops.

The Scouts took multiple hits, dragging themselves painfully up to just take another beating. Darien made it just in time to take a blow for Mercury. He was dressed in his costume, and his friends were hiding in the shadows to take pictures for the report.

The yomen came at the Scouts with speeds that matched a racing car, its claws were long. Sailor Moon took aim at the monster with her tiara, but soon she was caught in the yomen's mercy with both hands wrapped around her throat.

No, I can't breath! Sailor Moon thought as she clawed at her neck. Black dots swam in her eyes and her breath were harsh wheezes that made her even dizzier.

"Get off of her!" She heard someone scream. The yomen was blasted back and Sailor Moon fell to the rough asphalt coughing and filled her lungs with precious air. Her knees were defiantly scraped, and her stars danced in her eyes. The yomen retaliated by blasting the group of girls back. They hit a building with a loud crash and Sailor Moon stumbled to her feet.

Darien watched as Sailor Moon woozily got to her feet. He was trapped in a sink hole, barley holding on.

"Here, take my hand!" He looked through the slits of his mask to see Kunzite holding out a helping hand.

"Get away from here!" He yelled to his friends and held on tightly as he slipped a little.

"Do it!" Jadeite yelled at him angrily. He and the others were running out to the battle, dodging yelling police. Darien swore, but took Kunzite's hand and was able to pull himself out of the sink hole. A scream tore from one of the girls and he looked to see Jupiter hit the road with a nasty smack. He winced and then there was a flash of blue and Nephrite ran to her. Zoicite tried to grab Nephrite's jacket to stop him, but he missed.

"Are you crazy?!" Mars yelled at Nephrite and blasted the yomen with one of her fireballs.

"Concentrate your powers! We'll try a combined attack, so get clear!" Venus yelled orders to the girls and they all nodded. He stood, but then fell as a sharp pain ran down his leg. He looked to see that his pants were ripped and dark blood was running from a wound. He had no idea how he got it, but he gritted his teeth and his hand dove in his cape to get a rose.

"Now!" Venus yelled and Darien joined the scouts with a rose. It hit the yomen and the monster let out a curdling scream and exploded in a huge bright yellow ball of energy. He shielded his eyes with his hand. The thin silver bracelet around his wrist started glowing an unnatural color and it began to heat up. He shook his hand to get the burning bracelet off his skin. The pink glow from his bracelet was joined but four other colorful glows from his friend's bracelets.

"What's going on?" He asked. Everything around him became slow motion. He was still next to Kunzite, Zoicite was holding his hand out to stop Nephrite, Jadeite was looking away from the light and Nephrite still cradled Jupiter in his arms. It was quiet, there was no sound at all. All he heard was his breathing, and a strange ticking noise like a clock. There was a strange feeling of dread. The glow around the bracelets began to fade.

_If something were to happen to them then grave things will affect both parties_. A voice from his memories spoke to him softly. When did _that_ conversation happen? Why was that voice so familiar? He shook his head to clear the thought away, but it was no use. His mind was possessed with baffling images that didn't make any sense. The strange thing was…they were _his_ memories. Had he forgotten them? Were they just a figment of his imagination? Were they _really_ real?

_As long as you wear those bracelets the memory of the girls transformation will fade away until you forget what you saw. Then the bracelet will fade away, and everything will be as it must_. Again the voice spoke, more loudly. He knew it was a memory. He looked at his bracelet. He didn't even think about the bracelet until now. It had been something that he had on, but he didn't remember where he got it. It was just there…

"Look." He heard Kunzite whisper to him. Darien looked at the Scouts, his eyes landing on Sailor Moon. Her uniform began to glow, and then it changed into ribbons of pink. He saw a brief flash of her naked skin before she was covered by her night clothes. The other scouts began to change as well and one by one they all changed back into their pajamas. Then they began to fade away like wisps of steam and only he and his friends remained. Sounds grew louder and it was no longer slow motion. Two new figures hovered in mid air, with their arms folded. They were dressed in black clothes, clinging uniforms with short skirts and shorter shirts. If it wasn't for the V tiaras on their heads, he wouldn't have believed his eyes.

"That was an interesting fight if I must say." Venus said with a cold glitter in her eyes. Her long blonde hair blew in the wind and she turned to the other.

"I think this energy will do for now." Jupiter replied with a huge glowing ball of light blue energy cupped in her hands.

"Yes, Princess Serenity will be pleased." Venus said and turned her attention back to him and his friends. "See you boys." She said with a giggle and Jupiter smirked and then they were gone in puffs of green and yellow smoke.

"You're bleeding." He heard a female voice and looked around to see who spoke. But there was no one that he saw.

"Kunzite, Jadeite, will you help Darien back to the apartment?" She said again. He had a better idea of where the voice was and looked to the side of Kunzite to see two cats with glowing crescent moons on their heads.

"Come on boys! Its almost light and I don't want to have to deal with the crowd." The black cat said in an irritated voice. The guys didn't move, only stared astounded at the cats.

"Maybe Jupiter's yomen hit him harder than we thought." The white cat commented.

"Darien, did that cat just talk?" Kunzite asked him in an unsure whisper.

"I think so." He said back.

"Oh my god, what am I wearing?" Zoicite squealed. Darien turned to see him dressed in a grey uniform. He seemed more disturbed by what he was wearing than Darien's wound. Sucking his teeth in disapproval and pinching the fabric like it smelled bad Zoicite turned accusing eyes to the cats like it was their fault he was wearing something like that.

"We don't have time for this!" The black cat yelled. "We have to go now!"

"Whoa little kitty." Nephrite said and crouched down in from of the seething black cat. "Are you some kind of new breed? When did you learn how to talk?"

"What? Nephrite are you sill high from Venus's love yomens? She only brought two!" the black cat huffed.

"What is going on? Since when did cats learn how to talk? And where did the scouts go?" Jadeite asked in frustrated confusion, throwing his hands up. The two cats looked at one another.

"Are they serious?" The white cat asked. One of the ears of the black cat twitched and she puffed in surprise.

"What do you have on your wrist?" She demanded. Nephrite, who was still crouched in front of the cats, held out his arm to show her. She put a paw to it, studying it.

"Oh no." She hissed and moved over for the white cat to see.

"This is bad." He said in a solemn voice. She shook his head. "We have to figure what the heck is going on here and why you have those bracelets. For now, you just have to trust us." He said. Darien's friends turned to him for approval and he nodded. It was better than what they were doing now. And his leg was beginning to throb painfully.

"Grey does nothing for my complexion…if anything it makes my skin look ashen and colorless…I mean you can't even see my pretty rosy cheeks!" Zoicite ranted with a sour look as his eyes fell back on his grey uniform. All of his friends were dressed in grey. He was the only one that still wore his original clothing. Kunzite and Jadeite both held him up as they hobbled away. Where they were going, he had no idea. The talking cats were stealthy hugging the walls, looking around corners like mini ninjas.

"Hurry!" The black one hissed and they guys picked up their pace. Zoicite was quiet now and Nephrite was eerily quiet. He hadn't said anything since the incident happened.

"There! Tuxedo Mask!" He turned to a squealing girl who had about a hundred people behind her. Mostly girls. She was pointing at them like they were on some scavenger hunt and they found the final item.

"Damn." The black cat cursed. "Run!" She took off around another corner and the guys followed as fast as they could. His one good leg was hopping overtime and he had to grit his teeth to keep from screaming as sharp pains shot up his wounded leg. Warm blood freely ran down it and he was leaving a trail for the crazy girls to follow.

"You're hurt! Stop! I'll help! I'm a nuuuurse!" One of the girls cried out, but fortunately for his escaping party, they managed to lose them after they bounded up a building. He wanted to curse Jadeite and Kunzite for doing that, but he bit his cheek. They landed as gently as they could on the rough roof of the building they escaped to.

"Did you see me?!" Zoicite asked excitedly. "I flew! Like Peter Pan!" He exclaimed. The two cats looked at one another.

"Definitely still high from Venus's love yomens." The white cat commented. The black one was obviously the dominate cat of the two. She trotted to the ledge and looked down below her.

"We should wait here until the crowd gives up. The fanclubs are the worst and I bet the news and paparazzi got some good shots of you." She commented and sat pertly on the ledge.

"Do you have anything to wrap this cut with?" Darien asked. There was an answering _rriiip_ and Zoicite gleefully tore some fabric from the long sleeve of his arm. He bent over and took Darien's wounded leg into consideration. He rolled up the pant fabric, moist from his blood and tied his torn sleeve around the nasty gash. The tight cloth relieved some of his pain and he gave into a groan and dropped his head back.

"You should be okay in a day or two." The white cat said with his large blue eyes filled with concern.

"Ahhh!" It was Zoicite again and he looked at his arm where a new sleeve replaced where he ripped it. "Possessed clothing." He muttered.

"Just end your transformation!" The black cat snapped. "Touch that jewel on your shoulder and you'll have your civilian clothes back on." She said. Zoicite moodily looked at her and then did what she said and touched his shoulder jewel. He glowed briefly and then he was back in his original clothes, pricy blue jeans a character shirt and a black jacket. The rest of them did as well and then they were all less noticeable.

"I swear." The black cat muttered and gave an irritated look to Zoicite. She looked back down. "I think it's clear. Let's go." She said. Kunzite and Nephrite helped him up and gingerly made their way down the building to the side walk.

Night surrounded them and lights from the stores and streets lit their way home to Darien's apartment. As they entered the building the night guard gave them a concerned look, but stayed where he was, behind the greeting desk. Finally, they were safe in his apartment. His wounded leg was feeling better. After wrapping his cut, everyone was silent, unsure where they should start.

But Kunzite was having none of it and he spoke first. "What the hell is going on?" He asked. "What just happened there?"

Both cats exchanged confused looks as well. "I don't understand myself. One moment we were battling the Scouts and winning, and the next…you just gave up!" The black cat almost shouted.

"We were battling the Scouts?" Jadeite asked running a hand though his mess of curls.

"I just—I mean—what is wrong with you guys? And how did you get those bracelets?" The black cat puffed with frustration. The conversation was giving Darien a headache.

"We don't know. We've always hand them on." Nephrite said with a shrug, glancing at the winking emerald jewel on his bracelet.

"But—" The black cat sounded like she was ready to scream but the white cat shushed her with a paw.

"Do you know our names?" He asked them. The guys looked at one another like one of them knew the answer but Darien shook his head.

"And what is the last thing you remember before the battle with the Scouts?" He asked.

"They were getting their asses kicked is what I remember." Jadeite commented. The white cat looked confused.

"They?" He asked.

"The Scouts." All of the guys said.

"But not by us. It was a strange looking yomen that the Dark Kingdom sent. I have never seen one so powerful before." Zoicite said, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees.

"The Scouts and Tuxedo Mask," Nephrite motioned to Darien. "Did a combined attack and killed it, but when it died it let out a huge blast of energy and then the Scouts started changing back into their night clothes." He shook his head in disbelief. "And when they did, I could have sworn that I knew them from some where."

"Yes, the girls looked so familiar but there was just something that made me go completely blank. Some…unspoken memory that felt like it was taken from me." Kunzite said quietly.

"Everything around us stilled, like time had stopped. And then time sped up again and the next thing we knew, Venus and Jupiter left with energy." Darien muttered as he finished their recount.

"Before, when the yomen exploded, did your bracelets do anything?" The white cat asked.

"They just glowed." Kunzite answered looking at his bracelets.

"So, the Scouts…they were good?" The black cat asked. Something in her voice made Darien give her another looks. Her eyes were bright when she asked, full of wonder.

"They're heroes. We're doing a report on them for school." Zoicite said with a sight.

"And now, you're telling us that they're the bad guys. That's just too strange. It seems so wrong to even _consider_ that they are bad." Jadeite said with a shake of his head.

"So now you're all up to date, why not start with _this_ freaky dream." Zoicite said.

"Well, I don't know what got your minds all mushed. Those bracelets you have on are forbidden magic that was to never be used. Only Artemis and I have access to them. I couldn't think of anything that could have made us use them. I don't know how you got them, but I'm going to find out." She said.

"Luna, there is no way you can do that. Those bracelets have changed time itself and we'll never know why they have them on. The bracelets will reveal that in their own way we just have to be patient and watch for it." Artemis explained to the black cat now identified as Luna. "You see, the magic in the bracelets reacted to the explosion you told us about. The magic is very unpredictable."

"So we're going to be lost in this time until the stupid bracelets reveal something to us?" Kunzite asked with an angry growl.

"We'll help you." Artemis said softly sharing a look with Luna. She inclined her head but still held a troubled expression. She had secrets. Darien thought grimly but said nothing, just watched her. Luna was lost in her thoughts.

XOXO

AN: I was eager to get this chapet out. And I'm equally eager to hear your comments about this chapter as well. Chapter four will be a little more dark as we'll see the Scouts' "dark side"...and there will be many fight between the Good Guys and the Bad Girls...so I hope you stick around! Anywhoo, REVIEW! Love you all lots and lots...KISSES :_muh_:


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Princess Serenity of the Moon sat alone in her room. A small, tinkling melody was the only sound that echoed off the cold white walls. The little porcelain ballerina twirled all by herself on a silver mirrored dance floor. She had a sad look on her face, one of longing and hurt. Princess Serenity laid on her arm just staring at the little dancer. She had watched it so many times that she knew the dancer's moves before she did them. Once, a long time ago, she would hum the melody. Precious memories would twirl around her like the little ballerina twirled.

But that was long ago, before she knew pain and heart ache. Once, the ballerina danced with a peaceful, loving expression on her face and she danced with another person. His dark figure towered over her, holding her gently by the waist, held her hand with tenderness. He leaned over her as if protecting their dance from prying eyes. For their dance had been a sacred moment, when both hearts would beat as one and love lit the silver mirrored dance floor.

But it had changed. She thought bringing herself out of her haunting memories. He had betrayed her…left her. And the little music box became tarnished with his betrayal and her hatred. The little ballerina's sweet expression was now sad and lost and the male figure was no longer holding her. The silver mirrored dance floor was cracked and dull. The melody turned dark and haunting. It would never be the same.

"Serenity. They have returned." A soft voice floated to her from behind her door. Princess Serenity waited until the sad melody finished and then she closed the top of the music box, casting the sad little ballerina into darkness.

The whispering ruined walls of a once majestic palace silenced as she opened her door. A small petite woman stood to the side. She was dressed in a white and blue dress that floated around her, swishing as she began walking with her. She was just a little shorter than Princess Serenity with big ocean blue eyes and sapphire hair. She moved like a cloud, floating on the dull marble floors.

In another room that was once the ball room, was a sea of yellow and green yomens. They stood still behinds their makers, Jupiter and Venus. Princess Serenity felt a satisfied smile grace her unemotional lips.

"Very good." She murmured as Jupiter held out the energy like an offering. An invisible bubble held the hot, potent energy that they all needed. She took the gift and the yellow and blue energy flashed and turned pure, blinding white. It was always white, when it should be silver. But soon…soon I'll have the silver crystal Princess Serenity thought as she walked to where the other energy was stored. A white pillar of swirling energy pulsed like a rapid heart beat. She held out her hands and the huge pillar sucked the new energy away until her fingers were empty of its heat.

"The moon will be full in two days and the next rainbow crystal will show itself." She told her protectors as they came to stand around her in a protective circle.

"Beryl." Mars's stern voice carried to the sea of yomens and they parted as a hunched character came from its midst. Princess Serenity looked at her with unhidden disgust and hatred as the pathetic creature crept forward, cowering when one of Mercury's ice yomen cackled and jeered her.

"Yes my mistress." She said in a wavering voice full of fear and tears.

"Your yomen, tell us where it is." Mars demanded. Beryl gulped. The darkness had told her. The darkness that clouded her small room. It swirled all around her, invading her dreams like a thief. It always happened two days before the full moon, and the wicked girls knew it.

"H—he was reborn as a priest. He holds the orange crystal I believe." She stuttered. Mars's hand shot out of no where and grabbed her tattered purple dress and yanked Beryl towards her. Princess Serenity did nothing as Beryl let out a whimper.

"You better be right." She hissed, holding her for a second more before releasing her. Beryl stumbled back and fell to the floor. The Scouts smirked and Beryl shook her head.

"How could you be so cruel?" She whispered and Princess Serenity lifted her hand and summoned a little of the energy. She shouldn't have said anything. Beryl thought frantically. Her fear exploded like a bomb inside her, made her tremble like a dead leaf. And they knew…she thought in wild distress, they could sense it in her.

"And you are one to speak to _me_ of cruelty?" She murmured dangerously and let the energy twist and form into one of her moon yomens. Beryl's eyes grew wide and she tried to get to her feet but the moon yomen leapt from Princess Serenity's side and attacked, screaming with its hands full of forbidden moon magic. It lunged and imbedded itself into Beryl's very soul. Beryl sucked in a breath and didn't let it out. She twitched and her face began to turn blue until Princess Serenity banished the yomen from her. It swam from Beryl's body like an exercised ghost and disappeared in a spark of silver magic and Beryl greedily sucked in air, sputtering and heaving for more breath.

"You who destroyed our homes." She bitterly said and the moon yomen reappeared and smacked Beryl to the floor.

"You who killed innocent people and tried to kill us?" She asked. The yomen smacked her from the other side and Beryl hit the floor with a sounding cracked.

"You…who made us what we are?" She asked coldly and the yomen hit her backwards and Beryl lay sprawled on the floor with blood running from her nose and a huge bump on her forehead where she hit the floor.

"Did you think you could _actually_ control us?" Princess Serenity stood over her watching Beryl fight for her consciousness. "And you call me cruel?" She asked in a silky voice full of acid. She didn't wait for an answer, just walked out of the ball room not looking back. Her protectors followed as well never sparing the gasping creature a glance.

"We will not be control again." She said viciously. An image swam into her angry memories, and his voice whispered secretly to her. _Give it to me and I'll protect you…we can trust him I promise... Serenity give me your crystal and you'll live I swear…_

She violently smashed his voice from her thoughts. Banished it from her soul.

This time she will have both crystal…the silver and the gold. She vowed it to herself. And all those who live on Earth will finally pay. Their energy was just the beginning. The filthy earthlings will be destroyed and the Silver Alliance will rule once more…

XOXO

It was late in the week and while there had been no battles with the scouts, there was still tension among Darien and his friends. Nothing was really out of place. They went to school, came home watched the news for signs of the Scouts and they had weekly meetings. It was still bizarre for Darien to think that the Scouts were the bad guys. He was just unwilling to believe it.

Luna and Artemis sometimes would get frustrated with the guys when they were unwilling to get with the program. They were putting off training and such because they just couldn't fight the Scouts.

"You're not even trying." Luna said to them one day when she got fed up with their half hearted training. "How can you protect the world if you don't even try?" She hissed at them.

"It's the Scouts—" Jadeite protested dropping down from the curl up bars and took a seat on the grass. They were at a small outside gym next to a local shrine.

"You keep saying that like it's an excuse. Look, maybe before your memories got all mushed they were good. But they are not good in this time. They are ruthless, cunning girls that will stop at nothing to get what they want. They suck humans dry of their energy and grow stronger and stronger."

"What do they do with the energy?" Zoicite asked with a small huff as he put his weights down.

"I'm not sure." Luna admitted. "What I am sure of is that what ever it's for is something really big." She stared off into space. "And besides, it's going to be a full moon tonight and when ever there is a full moon, Princess Serenity herself comes."

Darien bolted from his spot, his heart hammering from hearing her name. "A princess?" He asked thinking back to his dreams he had those many days ago. But ever since he was in this new time, he hadn't dreamt of her since.

"Yes, Princess Serenity. Artemis and I used to be her mother's advisers. But then the Silver Alliance was destroyed and you were all reborn." Luna explained totally giving up on making them train.

"Reborn? Like reincarnation?" Zoicite asked taking a sip of water from his water bottle.

"Yes, after the Great War and the Silver Alliance was destroyed." She murmured looking into the distance as if remembering some dark event.

"Silver Alliance?" Darien asked. Did it have to do with the Princess? Was this Princess Serenity the princess he had been dreaming about? Luna shook her head.

"You really don't remember do you?" She asked. It was the first time Darien saw that she was actually beginning to believe them. "This is just too strange." She murmured thickly and left. Artemis called after her, but Luna ignored him and disappeared under a fence.

"She wanted things to be different." Artemis said sagely after a short silence. The guys all sat on the grass and waited for him to continue. "Before Queen Serenity died, she sent all of you back to Earth to be reborn. She even sent the Scouts, but unfortunately their life orbs were intercepted by the Evil Queen who destroyed the Silver Alliance."

"You keep on saying the Silver Alliance like we know about it." Kunzite bit at him moodily. Artemis didn't take offence at his tone, only looked serenely back at him and nodded.

"My apologies, perhaps I should start with what I know so far. Long ago, the plants of this Solar System created a Silver Alliance and the Moon was the head of it."

Jadeite snorted. "A little _rock_ was the head of all the major plants?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes it was because the people of the moon were magical creatures that were blessed with power and beauty. But they were also blessed with the Silver Crystal, a very powerful crystal that out shone any star in the universe. No one knows where it originated from. All we knew was that it was passed from generation to generation. Princess Serenity was the next heir in line to receive it, and she was by far the most powerful person in the galaxy. She was to be more powerful than her mother, but she was still very young. All the planets were part of the Silver Alliance, all except Earth."

"Why not Earth?" Nephrite spoke, tearing some grass from the ground and letting the blades fall though his fingers. Artemis shrugged.

"I don't know. Earth was powerful on its own. They had possession of the Golden Crystal, and didn't want or need the protection of the Alliance. But in the end, the Earth fell victim to the evils of Queen Beryl, who wanted the power of the Alliance. She used Earth to get it and that's when the Great War began."

"And the Silver Alliance fell?" Darien asked. Artemis nodded.

"I don't remember much, just the basic story, but what confuses me is why the Alliance fell in the first place. The Silver Crystal should have been more than enough to fight the invaders." He stopped to think about it. "I don't know what could have happened, but when the war was over and the moon was left in shambles, Queen Serenity used the crystal to beat back Beryl. But she only used a little of the magic. She used the rest to save you and the girls."

"But something happened right?" Jadeite asked. "I mean you said the Scouts are the bad guys…"

"Beryl was not completely beaten. She still had enough power to intercept the girls. She corrupted them." He said sadly.

"So they are working for Beryl?" Nephrite asked in what sounded like hope. Artemis grimaced and shook his head.

"No, they work for Princess Serenity. I don't know what happened to Beryl. I don't know if she is still alive or not. Princess Serenity is the dark force we fight. Her heart is filled with vengeance and the Scouts seem to hate you more that they should. We don't know what plans they have in store, but we do know that they want to destroy Earth the way Earth destroyed the Silver Alliance."

"The sins of our Fathers?" Zoicite asked in sarcasm and Artemis nodded.

"All the energy they collect is building and building. On top of that, they are searching for some strange crystals. Every full moon one of the crystals shows up, buried inside innocent people. We don't know their significance yet, but we know that we must stop them."

"This Golden Crystal…do you know where it is?" Darien asked. Artemis shrugged.

"The Silver and Gold Crystals are both missing. We must be very careful, because if they are found, it could be dangerous. I think that's one of the Scout's many missions, to find the crystals. Perhaps these other crystals they are finding will lead them to it, who knows."

The sun was setting low in the sky and winter winds blew across the small outside gym. It was daunting. Something was going to happen tonight when the moon was full and its silver light will bathe them in its magic glow. And then he'll finally meet this… Princess Serenity. He was cautious, but also he was filled with anticipation. If he saw her then he would know if she was the Princess who pleaded with him in the night. Pleaded for him to help her, to get something from her. Even if she was evil, he had to know…he had to see her…

XOXO

The cool air was charged with anticipation. The Princess Scouts and the Moon Princess were standing on a cold slab of old grey stone at the top of a church. Night was cascading its shadows over the land and the wind was blowing thickly. Dressed in all white, the girls waited patiently as the lights from the church windows began to dim out and people trickled from the entrance. The doors were held open by cheery nuns and behind them, they were very aware of the Priest. His life force was pulsing power far beyond that of a normal human.

When everyone was gone, the Scouts and the Moon Princess walked to the back of the church where the graveyard lay. Mercury and Mars scouted the place the day before, watching the same ritual they witnessed today. After everyone was gone, the Priest would go to the graveyard for a bit of prayer before starting dinner. Silently they watched him walk to a small bench shouldered between two massive headstones. The Moon Princess motioned Mercury and she stepped forward. She raised her arms and crossed them, summoning her magic.

"Mercury bubbles…blast!" She yelled and the Priest's head shot up looking around in surprise. The whole graveyard was covered with thick fog. It crawled over the grey floor, over the tabs of the gravestones.

The Scouts jumped down and the Moon Princess stayed where she was, watching the plan unfurl before her. In the distance, she heard the winds shift fast. Beyond the smoking fog she saw five figures jumping from building to building, steadily approaching them. The Moon Princess frowned, annoyed that they were found so fast.

"Company girls." She called out to them. The Scouts merely continued with their plan.

"Venus Love me chain encircle!" Amber flashed in the mist. The Moon Princess could hear the man grunt. The five approaching figures were becoming clearer. But they were too late. The last of the plan was put in motion and she floated from the top of the church down to the Scouts.

"Mars fire…surround!" Mars's power ignited like an exploding lighter and waves of fire rolled all around them in a protective halo. The men landed around them. Tuxedo Mask was directly in front of her, only the ring of fire separated them. As she looked at him, she was a bit taken back by his eyes. Something was different about them, something…but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. But she wouldn't let the disturbance deter her from her mission.

In her hand, a warm black crystal spike began to vibrate and she held it to the immobile Priest's heaving chest. A bright orange light exploded in his chest and the Priest let out a blood curdling scream and arched his back in pain as the crystal materialized. The black crystal worked like a magnet and soon the orange crystal was floating above his chest. She snatched it from the air. It was warm, still pulsing with his life force. She then raised her other hand and summon six moon yomens.

"Kinda over doing it you think?" Mars retorted and the Moon Princess smiled and shrugged. The moon yomens glowed bright silver, bathing themselves in the pale moonlight, growing bigger and stronger.

"Jupiter oak evolution!" The attack sent balls of lightning at the five figures and then all of the girls leapt into the air and the moon yomens took their places, giggling and spinning in crazed circles. The girls were back on top of the church and watched as the five men battle the moon yomens who were playfully attacking them.

"Drunk on moon beams." Mars muttered, amused by the fact. The Moon Princess almost smiled as one of the moon yomen floated behind Tuxedo Mask and flicked his hat off and then let out a squeal and floated back around him, encircling him with her sheer arms and then spinning him like a top.

"No playing girls…" The Moon Princess softly called out to them and the moon yomens giggled and then floated around the unconscious Priest. He twitched like he was going into a seizure.

"Now the real show begins." Venus whispered only loud enough for the girls to hear.

"Let's leave them to it then." Mercury said softly and opened a portal. The Princess Scouts waited respectfully until the Moon Princess entered first. When she did, the girls gave one last look at the battle scene. The Priest had changed and he was now some boxing bird. The moon yomens were behind him, waiting for orders…

XOXO

Tuxedo Mask wasn't paying attention to the battle at first. He eyes were glued to the back of Princess Serenity. She didn't turn to see the fight begin.

"Attack!" The bird yomen screamed and the six glowing yomens came after them The battle was nothing he ever experienced. The moon yomens fought like possessed spirits, coming at them full force and then disappearing before they could strike them.

"Careful!" Tuxedo Mask hear Luna yell to them. "Don't kill him!" she screeched. That instruction tripped him up, and the bird managed to pound a blow in his side and knock him off his feet. His hat rolled off and one of the moon yomens snatched it up with a gleeful screech.

"What do you mean? He's a yomen!" Zoicite yelled out and managed to defeat one of the moon yomens. It spiraled like a dust devil and then faded away like smoke.

"Stun him! We'll do the rest!" Artemis hollered and he and Luna took cover in the fog. That was easier said than done. There were still three moon yomens to deal with and the bird yomen was not going to tire anytime soon.

"Use your swords!" Luna's distant voice advised them.

"What swords!" Nephrite asked through gritted teeth as he spun and ducked the swinging fist of the bird yomen. Tuxedo Mask snatched a rose from his inside pocket and threw it at the closest moon yomen. It hit it between the eyes and disappeared in a cloud of sliver smoke.

"Think of someone you want to protect." Artemis said from the fog.

"Anyone?" Kunzite asked, landing a kick at the charging bird yomen.

"Someone important to you." In the fury of battle, Tuxedo Mask saw Nephrite's hands grow dark blue. In the thick fog, his whole body was enveloped by a dark blue aura.

_Bu-bump_.

It sounded like a heartbeat and invisible power rolled off of him in rings like throwing a rock in a calm body of water. The rings washed over the whole graveyard, stunning the remaining two yomens and the bird yomen.

"Moon healing activation!" Luna's strong voice rumbled over the grave yard, emerged from the fog.

The bird yomen fell to its knees, clutched his head and roared like a wounded animal. His yellow feathers turned black, and then it turned back into the priest. The moon yomens recovered from Nephrite's rolling power and leapt into the air to escape, taking his hat along with them. The fog cleared and the guys were left staring at the unconscious priest.

XOXO

Princess Serenity sat on her neatly made bed, contemplating their next move. To be honest, she didn't really know. The full moons were not coming fast enough for her. It was the only way she knew when she would be safe, when Earth was bathed in that power. It was the only time she would venture out of her palace. The Scouts were different, she envied them. They were a lot stronger that she. If only she knew where the crystals were! A million thoughts ran through her head until she paused at one. A smile tugged at her lips and she stood and walked from her room.

It was quiet, and her bare feet made no sound as she walked through the palace corridors until she reached a tightly closed door. The dull brass knob felt cold in her hands as she yanked. It opened with a small creak. Darkness spilled over her like a glass full of secrets. Every step up the dirty stairs made her heart hammer deep in her chest. She never ventured up these stairs for so long, she was afraid of what she saw. Her memories of the palace were slim, little inconclusive images here and there, but nothing real. She knew once she got her crystal, she would remember everything. It frustrated her to know her whole life was wrapped in such a small item, and that the damn defenders of Earth were stopping their progression. She had to get rid of them for good. She needed some kind of splendid idea.

She arrived at another door, a large thick door of moonrock and marble. Exquisite designs of hand carved flowers and exotic tree life were yellow with age. The sliver knob was tarnished and had dust on it, but it turned smoothly with a soft twist of her wrist. The thick door made no sound as it swung slowly open and revealed another dirty room.

"Serenity?" Serenity jumped and spun with hand to her chest. Little hairs on the back of her neck stood on ends, and her heartbeat pumped erratically.

"Raye! You frightened me!" Her shock turned to annoyance as her raven haired friend gave her a smirk.

"I noticed." She murmured and held her hand out to a hanging lamp by the doorway. A spark of fire shot out like a bullet from a gun and lit it. Other hanging lamps sparked to life as well. Darkness skated from the room, illuminated the pearl blue room with various empty pedestals. Each one was richly decorated with extinct jewels of bright purple, pale blue and blood red.

"What is this place?" Raye asked as she trailed her fingers over one of the soiled pedestal. Her long black hair was weaved into an intricate braid placed over her right shoulder. Her gown of sheer red and white dragged lightly across the dusty floor.

"The Room of Heirs." Serenity murmured looking at the clouded pictures of her ancestors. Her memories were few, but she remembered what her mother looked like. She wiped her hand across the rough surface of a hanging portrait to see her kind purple eyes. A knot of emotion caught her breath and she blinked back some tears.

"What was in these?" Raye asked. Serenity sighed and turned from her mothers portrait.

"The Silver Crystal, the Moon Stick, Moon Rod, Spiral Rod, Changing Pen, the Holy Grail, Kaleid Moon Scope…" Serenity trailed off, returning to the Spiral Rod pedestal. "My mother thought I wouldn't get this weapon so soon." A faint memory tugged at her. It was fuzzy, jumbled, but she remembered her mother taking her aside one day and bringing her up to this room. Sunlight filtered though the arched window and each of the magical items sparkled prettily. A new pedestal rose from the floor with a scepter delicately perched upright. She had never seen this one before.

"_Serenity, tell me who he is."_ She whispered, looking at the scepter like it might come alive and growl at her. Who _he_ was? Coming back to the present, Serenity snatched her hand back looking at the pedestal with disdain. She must have meant _him_…her betrayer. The one she loved who danced with her and then destroyed her whole world because he took the crystal from her, lied to her.

"If everything is gone, then why are we up here?" Raye sounded bored now and Serenity smiled slightly at her.

"Not everything is gone my dear. Could you call the others?" Serenity asked and Raye put out a mental call, summoning her friends to her. After a little wait, they all stumbled in grumbling about how rude she was by waking them so early.

"We need to move things along." Serenity began, ignoring their grumbles. As soon as she spoke, they all became alert. "I think we've tested the waters long enough. We are confident on what the defenders of Earth can and cannot do yes?" She looked at her protectors and they all agreed. "How would you feel about moving from here and living among the Earthlings?" She asked slowly and tensely waited for an answer.

"What do you mean move? Like—_live_ there?" Mina asked with a frown. Serenity gave one nod.

"Among the Earthlings?" Lita asked bluntly.

"What better way to observe our pray then to live among the sheep?" Ami asked all of them, her eyes sparkling. "Serenity, you have a plan to do this?" She asked. Serenity motioned them to a pedestal in the back corner. On a scroll corner, she touched a pale blue jewel and a stream of light shot from the ceiling. All the scouts ducked, but Serenity watched in fascination as an outline of five items began to shimmer into view. Four glass wands and one broach with a small pink gem in the center were materialized

"Are those what I think they are?" Mina asked in a shaky whisper and touched the amber glass wand ever so gently like it would break on contact.

"Yes." Serenity said softly.

"Why did you keep them from us?" Raye demanded as she greedily took her wand up.

"I didn't do it deliberately." Serenity scowled at her friend. "We didn't have access to them until we stored enough energy to activate this room." Raye's face softened and she quietly apologized for snapping at her. Serenity forgave without thought, smiling kindly.

"Did it take a lot of our collected energy to unlock these?" Lita asked.

"Unfortunately it did, but now we can summon our yomens and transform without taking anymore from the storage. We'll just have to work a little harder to gather more." Serenity said with a shrug.

"This will make things easier." Mina said confidently, taking her glass changing wand that was lost for so many years. Serenity took her broach, caressing the little pink gem lovingly with her finger.

"So we're going to do this? Leave this place and live with the humans?" Raye asked the girls with an unsteady voice. Serenity looked around the room. This slice of the palace Beryl took as a souvenir was so cold and dark. But it was her home, she felt safe here, untouchable. But living among the Earthlings was something that must be done. She would do anything to get her crystal back, and take the Golden crystal from the Earthlings.

"What about Beryl?" Lita asked.

"She will remain here. We'll have our yomens stop by once and a while to feed her." Serenity said coldly.

"Can we trust that they will keep her from her Mystic Globe?" Lita raised a finely shaped brow.

"We have it locked and sealed. She is weak and will not put up much of a fight." Serenity said confidently.

"I don't know. We shouldn't underestimate her. Beryl underestimated us and look what happened." Ami chimed in.

"I wish we could just kill her." Raye grumbled.

"You know we can't. Not until the crystal are found. The sooner we live among the human, the sooner we can collect all the crystals and then we can kill her."

"How is living with the Earthlings going to help us gather the crystals?" Mina asked. Ah yes, Serenity was waiting for that question.

"The black crystal can do more that extract the crystals. It can help us locate the holders."

"Then why do we need Beryl alive?" Raye roared.

"Because the only way to kill her is by using the Silver Crystal. She's from some kind of shadow race and she can't be killed the same way humans can be. She's infused with dark magic, and only magic can destroy magic." Serenity explained.

"Does she know this?" Ami asked.

"No. But we must move quickly lest she find out." She said. There was a moment of silence.

"Fine, but every week, two of us have to came back and check on her ourselves." Raye said. They all agreed.

"Have you thought about where we're going to live? What we're going to do? Our names? Lita asked.

"Leave that to me. Everything will be prepared by tomorrow morning." Ami said, grabbing her Glass Wand from the pedestal. Serenity gazed all around her, taking in her friends' faces, their smiles and unease. She wasn't sure why she felt like she was betraying them, but guilt swamped her. They would do anything she asked, anything. That power she held was making her sick for some reason. Living with the Earthlings was going to test them all. Their friendship, their loyalty…and more and the thought was making her sick.


End file.
